The real thing
by Katieghost
Summary: The characters we all know and love are no longer mere puppets, but real creatures who are about to film Tim Burton's new idea. What could possibly go wrong? Well, let's find out, shall we...
1. A movie of sorts

**Okay, so this is a new idea I thought of some time ago. The story is not finished, but I do have a few chapter already written out and I know the general idea of where the story is going. Since people actually _like_ what I write (sometimes, anyways), I thought I'd post this nice little AU and see how much love it got (if it gets any at all). :)**

**I'm so freaking excited for this and I don't even know why. 8D **

**Well, what are you waiting for? Read on! :D**

* * *

_Chapter 1_

A skeleton in a pinstripe suit walked into the studios where the movie he was going to do was going to be filmed. He would just meet the rest of the cast today, and that afternoon they would be doing the very first scene. He didn't really have any feelings towards the movie yet; the director had insisted they be surprised of what they were doing. They basically knew as much as the public. How weird was that?

He finally got there, and he was surprised at the amount (and variety) of creatures in there. Well, granted, he was a walking and talking _skeleton _for goodness' sake, but this town sure was weird! There were vampires, ghosts, witches, a corpse family, a hunchback, someone who turned his head constantly, and a wheelchair-bound doctor that funnily resembled a duck.

He held back his laughter at the scene. And they were supposed to 'live' in a town together? Leave it to Tim Burton to come up with something like this.

Aforementioned director finally came out from wherever he was hiding and gave them a warm greeting.

"Well, hello, my friends!"

Every creature and ghoul turned his, her, or its head toward him. Most of them smiled at who would be their boss for the filming of this movie, but he scoffed. He already didn't like him.

"Since most of you don't know what we are here for, I will explain it briefly. The movie will be centered on our main character, Jack, who is the King and ruler of Halloween Town. He is supposed to love Halloween, and he did, but lately he feels restless and tired of it. When he takes a walk through the Hinterlands and discovers Christmas Town, he loves it so much that he thinks it's what missing on his life. Later on, he is so overwhelmed by it and so curious of what it really means that he tries to take over it."

Jack crossed his arms and scowled. He didn't very much like his character now.

"With the help of his citizens, he will try to make a different, 'improved' Christmas, which ends up being a Halloween version of it. After he almost destroys Christmas in the Real World, Santa assures him that he doesn't need to take over other holidays if his rightful place is Halloween. This is just a brief summary of it, though, because we'll be adding things once we begin rolling," Tim finished.

The creatures stared at him as if he was crazy. Heck, he probably _was_.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack asked from where he was standing in the back of the room. Everyone turned to see him. "You don't know what we're going to do?"

"Well, it means we don't have an actual script yet..." he said apologetically, grinning sheepishly. That caused a myriad of reactions between the 'citizens', which weren't too happy with the idea of working without a guide, especially the creature that could turn his head. (The Mayor, it was?)

The complaints were cut short, however, when an agitated, disheveled teenager entered the room, yelling the director's name.

"Mr. Burton! Mr. Burton! The script is here!" he panted, reaching his side.

Tim sighed in relief, as did the rest of the monsters.

Jack swore that if he had eyes, he would be rolling them.

* * *

Tim was introducing everyone to the rest of the cast, starting with the ones who were at the front. When he got to a pretty, red-haired rag doll covered in stitches and wearing a patchwork dress, he had Jack's complete attention.

'_What a beauty...'_ he thought dreamily, his eye sockets going half-lidded without him realizing it.

"Listen everyone, Sally here will be playing as the doctor's creation and daughter of sorts," Tim announced, a proud gleam in his eyes. The way he said it made Jack wonder if she played an important part in the movie nobody knew about.

Just then, the director spotted Jack and ran to his side.

"Well, if it isn't our fearsome king!" he introduced, making everyone gasp in amazement and some murmurs spread between them.

Jack scowled; was it really that difficult to picture a skeleton as the Pumpkin King?

'_Hmph, I'll show them...'_ he thought angrily.

"Something wrong, Jack?" Tim asked, obviously noticing the skeleton's sour mood.

"Nothing," he snapped bitterly. The director gave him a questioning glance but shrugged it off, before spotting someone else.

"I see your late as always, Oogie," he said darkly to what seemed to Jack a giant potato sack.

Jack smirked. If Tim didn't like him, he figured _he_ would.

"I arrive when I want to, clown. It's not like you'll need me anytime soon," he said, his voice dangerous but confident.

"I told you we were going to do a general review today, so you _have_ to be here, as much as I don't like it," the director explained in exasperation.

Oogie scoffed and just walked to where Jack was. When Tim had gone off to introduce the remaining citizens, he spoke.

"He's such a pain in the ass for me. Just 'cuz I'm the boogieman," he muttered to Jack, who nodded his agreement.

"I bet if you were in my place that wouldn't be the case," he replied darkly, still scowling as he watched the director speaking to the other citizens.

Oogie looked confused. "Why? Who are ya playin'?"

"The Pumpkin King," he mumbled, his frown deepening and making it clear that he was not too happy about the idea.

The boogieman's reaction was much more than he expected.

"Wow, really? We're supposed to be enemies, man! Now that's gonna be difficult, 'cuz if you hate him as much as I do, we're gonna be great friends."

Jack chuckled. "I don't doubt that we will, Oogie."

* * *

**Now, don't panic. Jack's not evil or something like that. He just doesn't like his 'boss' or his role in the movie too much. :) I don't know why I picture him and Oogie being friends, but that's just how my mind rolls.**

**It feels weird writing about someone who _is_ real. I don't know; it's like I'm assuming things that aren't true and stuff. Fortunately, only Tim Burton is going to make an appearance in this story or else I wouldn't know what to do if, say, I had to write Johnny Depp or Henry Selick (although I _should_ be writing the latter, he was the director of TNBC and Tim Burton only came up with the idea... Ah, well ^^") His character and personality will be completely made up by me, since I'm sure that if I even met Tim Burton personally I would die right then and there.**

**Please tell me what you think of this little AU! :D And if you have your own ideas of 'bloopers' or 'deleted scenes', let me know! :)**


	2. Shenanigans

**Next chapter, ahoy! It's a bit longer, this time. You're welcome for that. ^_^**_  
_

* * *

_Chapter 2_

Jack was just walking along the sets, getting to know them better, when he spotted Sally, the beautiful rag doll that had made his breath catch. He sighed dreamily at that.

He smiled and walked towards her, determined to know her better.

"Hi, Sally," he greeted warmly.

She managed a small smile before replying.

"Hello, Jack. What are you doing over here?" she asked, genuinely curious. He was the main character; she figured he should have more (important) things to do than just roaming about there.

"I was just giving myself a tour, you know, getting to know the settings. I especially like this one," he gestured to the snow-covered set of a graveyard and a curled hill.

The rag doll girl nodded.

"It reminds me of Christmas," she said "It's my favorite holiday."

Jack grinned. "Really? It's mine's too."

It wasn't a lie; it was probably the only thing he had in common with his character. The snow, the presents, and the cheer were all wonderful for him. It was a time when he didn't feel so alone, for a change. Not that he would reveal it to anyone other than her.

A small silence took place.

"So... Do you want to go see the rest of the settings with me?" he asked, uncharacteristically shy. When he caught her eye, he immediately looked down, embarrassed for some reason.

He was vaguely confused of what he'd just done. He was usually so confident, especially with girls, but when he had looked at her all of that disappeared. She was...different.

She giggled pleasantly, but then frowned. "I'd love to, but I can't."

Jack eyed her with a disappointed look. He really had wanted to spend some time with her.

"Why?" he asked, slightly downcast.

She smiled apologetically. "Mr. Burton wanted to meet with me in a while. I should go now."

She smiled at him sadly. He did seem nice, even if he was someone highly important talking with her.

Jack sighed as he watched her leave. He continued his walk, his annoyance for the annoying director increasing tenfold.

He slowed down as he saw Oogie not too far away. He had a mischievous look in his face. '_What is he up to?'_ Jack wondered. He crept closer silently and tapped his friend on the shoulder, almost laughing at the expression on the boogieman's face when he turned around to face him.

"What are you doing?" he asked calmly.

Oogie glared at him. "Don't _do_ that! You might have blown my cover!" he said in a harsh whisper. "Now, _shh_!"

Jack nodded noncommittally, humoring him, and then watched as someone walked into the space Oogie was looking at. '_Speak of the devil,_' Jack thought sourly.

Tim was very irked. That good-for-nothing boogieman had done it again! He'd gone and scared off the extras by spilling that disgusting green slime all over them! Ohhh, he was going to get it once he found him! How was he supposed to find Christmas elves in Hollywood? In **summer**?

Jack walked up to Tim. "What happened?" he asked plainly, noticing the director's face full of rage.

He glared at him as if he had done it. "Oogie happened!" he shouted, darting his eyes every which way looking for the culprit.

Jack smirked inwardly. '_So that's what he was up to!'_

"I saw him running to the Town Square set," he said, pointing an opposite direction of where Oogie was. Tim marched in that direction.

When he was out of earshot, Jack busted out laughing.

Oogie went up to him, wondering had he said.

"Thanks for covering me, pal. I really managed to piss him off this time." He snickered, that look of mischief back in his eyes- or lack thereof.

Jack stopped laughing and looked at him quizzically.

"I don't _want_ to know," he said, a little shocked.

Oogie shrugged nonchalantly.

"Wanna help me annoy someone else? Like the old coot in the wheelchair?" the burlap boogieman asked, that gleam back in his eyes. Jack pretended to weigh his options.

"Since I don't have anything better to do.." He sighed as if annoyed, but gave Oogie a devious smile. They both ran, almost like a child would, to look for Dr. Finkelstein.

* * *

They were late for filming the first scene. That much was true.

"Oogie! Hurry up, we're _really_ late!" Jack shouted, panicking slightly. He was running and trying not to leave his friend, which was something difficult to say the least. Oogie didn't seem to care about being late.

"So what? We can arrive when they need us," he said, walking slowly just to annoy Jack.

"I'm the main character! They need me _now_, stupid!" Jack retorted, getting more frustrated by the minute.

Finally they made it to the entrance, and immediately every eye (and eye socket) in the room turned to them.

Jack glared murderously at Oogie as he made his way to the set, who did his best to ignore him, knowing it would annoy him.

"You're late, the both of you," Tim said, his arms crossed in a disapproving way. Jack copied him and huffed. He would have blamed Oogie, but.. Actually, he wondered why he didn't do that and be off the hook.

Instead, he just sighed.

"Can we just get started now?" he asked weakly, and everyone took their places. They led him to a changing room where they told him he had to put the scarecrow outfit on top of the normal suit. He entered, scowling. '_Why two outfits?'_ He sighed, aggravated, as he changed. What that stupid director made him do.

"Tim, what does this mean?" he asked the director once he had changed. He was still scowling, holding the pumpkin 'head' in one of his hands.

Tim ignored his scowl and beamed at his attire.

"Jack, you look positively terrifying! You see, the movie starts with you in the Halloween Town sign being blown by the wind. The citizens will sing the song and near the end of it you will appear in a stray horse. Got it till there?"

"Uh-huh," Jack said, not really interested. He looked the other way and spotted Sally talking with an assistant of the team, probably getting instructions too. She somehow looked even more beautiful beneath the low lighting of the room, and he couldn't help but stare at her in complete awe. Tim's talking soon faded out of his hearing.

"And that's the end of the first scene... Jack, are you listening to me?" he asked, a little annoyed when he noticed that the skeleton was not looking at him.

Jack shook his head lightly to get out of his trance.

"Sorry, what?" he asked, sending a blank stare to the man in front of him.

Tim watched hopelessly. He had lost him; the question is, to whom?

"Who were you looking at?" he asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow, and looking around to see if he could spot whoever was distracting his star so much.

"Um, n-no one! Why should I be? I was paying attention to you all the time," he defended, not helping himself at all with his nervous attitude.

"Well, I'll explain the last part again, since I think you're lying."

Tim didn't look convinced as he explained to Jack what he would be doing on top of the horse and the rest. When he finished, Jack had a confused look on his face.

"And what would I dance? I don't dance," he complained.

The very tired director sighed.

"Just do spins and stuff. Nothing too complicated, but it has to look spooky."

"_Okaay_," the costumed skeleton drawled, walking to take his place. The music began and the wind blew him as he pointed to Halloween Town. When the camera wasn't looking at him anymore, he got off there and went looking for that horse.

They pointed him where he had to go and some moments later he was ready to make his appearance. Then, he heard Oogie's voice in the song.

"_I am the shadow on the moon at night, filling your dreams to the brim with fright..."_

'_A shadow? That's all for him? Well, it sure is easy...'_ Jack thought, a little jealous of the boogieman's lack of role in the movie. Sure, he had been a minor character sometimes, but people got so distracted by him that they always treated him as if he was the star of the movie. He wondered what being ignored would feel like. What going unnoticed when he walked into a room, or having to memorize just a few lines instead of whole pages. What being able to go out without being ogled or chased by stark-raving fans. What being treated as someone normal, not a world-famous actor, would be. It must be nice to have people liking him for him, not for what he seemed to be.

Now, he was being pulled by some kind of creature with an axe on its head. This was the boring part: he had to stay still until he saw the ghoul who would hand him over the torch. And then he would set himself on fire-

Wait, _what_?!

"TIIIIM!" Jack yelled at the top of his lungs, horrified, just when he had seen the man with the torch. He took off his pumpkin head. "When did you said I had to set myself on fire!?"

The cast sighed in unison.

"CUT!" Tim shouted, then proceeded to scold the skeleton, "Jack, I explained it to you _twice_! So you have no excuse!" He was actually quite surprised Jack heard him but hadn't actually paid attention to him.

"But I don't want to set myself on fire..." he said sheepishly, hoping to dissuade the director.

However, that would not be the case. Tim had had enough.

"You will and that's it!" he shouted so loud Jack cringed. "Now from before Jack enters.. Places!"

And everyone took their respective places in the set. The song started again from Oogie's part, and Jack sighed as he put on his pumpkin head again. The horse started to move and he started to wonder whether the fire would harm him. He guessed that Tim would not want to lose his star actor, and if he wanted him to be on fire, then he would be okay.

Just as he convinced himself of that, the monster passed him the torch.

He took it bravely and swallowed it whole, catching on fire almost instantly. The flames didn't burn, they were actually quite soothing. He was suddenly excited and started to dance on top of the horse with an impossible grace.

He roared at the citizens, who gave a surprised shriek of terror, and jumped into the fountain as he was instructed to. The scarecrow suit, much to his surprise, was easier to remove now that he had plenty of space underwater. His ascension was slow as he extended a hand to his citizens, smiling. The song ended and the cheering ensued.

Jack said his lines, remembering them from the script he read just an hour ago. Everything went smoothly until he briefly looked to the camera and saw it pointing in other direction. He looked back there. It was Sally!

Jack grinned; he was quite glad she didn't have a minor role in the movie. Maybe they could practice their lines together and then...

"Jack, snap out of it!" a witch yelled. He shook his head and stared at her, and then remembered what Tim had said about the fan club. He nodded distractedly, and it wasn't hard to look nervous as the stares they were all giving gave the impression they were about to eat him, if it wasn't from the resounding cry from the Mayor. He silently thanked him as he got away from the mob.

When he rounded the corner, he gave a much obliged sigh, and continued walking.

"Nice work, Bone Daddy..." the saxophone man said.

'_What kind of nickname is that?'_ thought Jack as he replied and went out the gates.

"Perfect! Cut!" Tim shouted with glee. Jack came back from the path to the graveyard and saw that everyone was celebrating almost like in the movie. Putting aside the bizarre nature of the situation, he couldn't help but feel proud they had completed the first scene.

"It was perfect everyone; we just need to edit it a bit," Tim said, sparing a glance at Jack who just grinned sheepishly.

The other cast members didn't notice or didn't care as they continued celebrating and went out for their break. When they passed by him, they congratulated Jack for a good work. He nodded at their compliments, not really caring about anything besides getting out of there.

"Now, Jack, come here," Tim requested as he suddenly appeared by his side. Jack jumped a bit but nodded, nonetheless. He followed him to his office, where he offered him a seat.

Looking confused, Jack sat himself in the chair and looked at Tim nervously.

Tim crossed his arms, looking as if he had something on his mind.

"Are you going to tell me or not?" he asked out of the blue, confusing even more the poor skeleton.

Jack stared and asked, "Tell you what?"

"The girl you have a crush on," he said as if it was the most natural thing to ask. Jack was expecting that question, just not so soon.

He blanched a bit and stuttered a reply.

"I-I d-don't know what you're talking about."

He tried to look as confident as possible, but that plan backfired on him as soon as he felt the slight blanch on his face which he was sure was a sign of his embarrassment. Tim gave him a look that plainly said '_I_ _know you're lying'_, but Jack wasn't that eager to reveal his secret to him. He remained silent for a while, avoiding his gaze and hoping the director would let him out the hook this once.

When the man sighed, Jack was ready to leave the office until he said,

"I'll have to force it out of you.." he said gravely.

Jack widened his eyes, suddenly very afraid of his boss.

"What..?" he barely muttered. He regained himself and said, "Why do you want to know so badly?"

"Because maybe I can help you with it, and I don't want you being distracted as we film..." he said the last part with a dangerous edge to it, and Jack gulped.

"B-but.."

"I know! It's Sally, isn't it?" he asked, eagerness spread all over his face. Jack gave him a '_how did you know?_' look and tried to hide it as soon as he did, but Tim had seen it. The director smiled enthusiastically and a second later he was out of his office.

Jack blinked hopelessly. What just happened?

* * *

**I'm kinda tired right now so I'll look for typos later. It's 4 in the freaking morning but I _have_ to post this or else it'll take 3 more days of laziness to do so, and you wouldn't want that, would you? :)**

**Let me know if this made you laugh! :D**


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